In an environment in which document sharing is required or desired, such as in a legal environment where documents including exhibits are going to be used at a deposition, the usual method of document sharing involves distribution of copies of paper documents. Sufficient numbers of copies must be located, printed, organized, collated, and shipped for use. There is time and expense involved in creating these copies and logistical difficulties in transporting what could be multiple boxes of documents.
There have been some attempts to share documents electronically, eliminating paper copies. These electronic solutions involve storing electronic versions of the documents on internet-based cloud servers. These servers are outside the possession and control of the users. In one example, the taker of a deposition downloads a copy of a document to their tablet or computing device; they then allow the other participants in the room to download and view the documents from the server.
This electronic cloud-based solution has drawbacks. First, it is bound only to devices that can access the internet via Wi-Fi or broadband connections. If a deposition, for example, is held in a location with limited or non-existent internet access, participants may be unable to download documents.
Even in a location with good internet service, users still must download documents from a cloud-based service. Different internet providers may have different broadband speeds at the same location, resulting in some participants getting a document before others. For example, a document that is 10 Mb in size may take as long as two minutes to retrieve from a cloud server. Any time spent downloading documents from a web host is time lost.
Additionally, cloud-based service users incur ongoing costs. Web host servers often charge fees for hosting documents on their servers. They may also charge a fee every time a document is downloaded or accessed. Moreover, governments have begun implementing “cloud” use taxes, adding even more cost to the cloud-based services.
Lastly, there are security issues that arise from cloud-based services, as hacking and other security breaches are common.
Thus, a non-cloud-based electronic system for securely sharing documents is desired.